First Class Dumplings at the Worlds Highest Observation Deck

Advertisement: This blog is sponsored by insomnia. Whenever your awake at 6 am in the morning in a foreign country and everyone your with is sound asleep try blogging to ease your worries and help you kill time. Thanks, Insomnia.

I am laying in bed right now in Bali and I figured now would be as good of a time as ever to write the Christmas edition of our travel blog about our layover in Shanghai. This year we decided to skip the family pleasantries and embark on an epic adventure in Bali (Indonesia). This journey found us having a long layover in Shanghai, China where we decided to take up the challenge of wandering around this fascinating city without guidance or much planning.

Our voyage began with a 14 and a half hour flight from LAX. This year and only time (Grant will vehemently disagree) we sprang for Business Class so we were a bit pampered. As everyone found themselves squished like sardines we found ourselves in a near private cabin and able to lay flat. After a mildly tasty meal, we crashed hard and fast. When I woke up there were only 4.5 hours left of the 14.5 flight. I watched a few shows on Netflix and joined Grant in some jovial conversation.

Upon landing, we rushed to customs where we had to obtain a visa. The entire process took about an hour, but they finally let us into China.

Having done little research on the city— I knew I wanted to do three things. I wanted to eat Dumplings, I wanted to see the legendary Bund (which turned out to just be an epic view of the skyline) and finally see Old Shanghai. Grant wanted to visit the worlds tallest observation deck at the Shanghai Tower. We were able to accomplish all of those things and more.

The city of Shanghai itself was very clean and relatively flat. The terrain made it very suitable for the million skyscrapers that filled the city to the sky. Upon landing, we hopped on the Maglev, which was their high-speed train. Within 8 minutes we found ourselves in the heart of Shanghai bypassing all of the traffic that would have easily eaten most of the layover time.

Our first stop was the Bund, which was the number one tourist destination according to multiple travel sites. Their skyline was incredible and we took some great photos of told pearl building that captured the uniqueness and beauty of the city perfectly.

Next, we wandered to Yang’s Fried Dumplings shop or at least we thought we did. Mind you, Grant and I cannot even say hello in Chinese—we are the typical dumb Americans. So armed with an iPhone and a passion for dumpling we tried to navigate the windy and packed streets. We made our way to what we thought was Yangs and attempted to order. The only problem was the entire menu was in Chinese. I politely asked if they had an English menu and while they did— saying “pork” to describe something isn’t necessarily a vivid description of what I am about to consume.

Our first round of food came out and it was delicious. It was by far the best dumplings and hot and sour soup we have ever eaten. Portions are incredibly small in China and us large Americans are used to hearty or filling meals so I decided to order more. The same problem-filled us with lack of detail. I attempted to explain in English what we wanted, but the friendly Chinese women would have no idea what I wanted and would just point to soda. She literally did this 4 times. I then attempted to use my phone and show pictures of Western Chinese food, which gave the women a good laugh. So I literally decided to walk around and aimlessly point at people’s food on the table. This proved successful and we were on our way with some delicious food.

Upon leaving for Old Town Shanghai, we realized that Yang’s Dumpling (the most famous dumplings in Shanghai) was actually located next to the restaurant we just embarrassed ourselves. And as traditional glumness Americans, we decided to order more dumplings. Thankfully we did as these bad boys were amazing.

Having only an iPhone with shoddy service and a will to see Old Town Shanghai— we took the roundabout path to our location. Here at Old Town Shanghai, we found the traditional or feudal architecture that I thought would be throughout the city. This area has been transformed into a tourist destination by repurposing the old buildings as local shops and restaurant. The beauty of this area was maintained by the sweeping roof lines and wooden detailing in am of the buildings.

Now here is a very important lesson. China’s bathrooms are disgusting. While some have adopted the Western toilet others have continued the tradition of a hole in the ground. As a Westerner who needed to use the restroom, it proved to be a bit of a challenge. Upon completely my bowl deposit into said hole, I reached for the paper only to be mortified to find there was nothing. I went to a different stall and no luck. I began to panic and quickly pulled up my pants. I explained to Grant the situation where he gleefully laughed at my expense. We attempted a different bathroom only to find the same problem. Fortunately, Starbucks had taken residency in this area and we ran to it. Salvation was had in the form of a handful of napkins and we put this nasty creamy mess behind us. (See what I did there— yes I am 5 sometimes)

The final stop was to cross the river and get to the newly completed Shanghai Tower. Completed in 2016, the tower itself is only dwarfed by the tower in Dubai. This tower, however, had its observation deck on levels higher than the one in Dubai making it technically the world tallest observation deck in the 2nd highest building the world. This explanation was provided to you by Grant’s research and me paying attention.

We hopped on a ferry and made our way over. After purchasing the tickets we were up, up and up. It took 70 seconds to traverse 118 floors in the worlds fastest elevator according to the bellhop. We wandered around and took a few pictures. The view from the top was incredible as we could see hundreds upon hundreds of skyscrapers. We left and headed back to the airport.

As a perk of being business class, we got to enjoy the China Eastern airlines VIP lounge. It was pretty incredible with a ramen cook there and massage chairs. We killed the remaining hour that we had lounging around and were off on our six-hour flight to Bali.

Our seats were not as comfy as last time, but both Grant and I were exhausted. He swore he would not fall asleep. Here is irrefutable proof that he can sleep on a plane!

​Besides this video— I thought this lady was crazy and took a video of her journey. Fortunately, she did not get hit, but she is a brave women for sure to attempt this.

Diana, I Love Palm Springs...Baloney!

As retribution for making him go to Ensenada-- Grant decided as punishment to take me to a place that I loathe Palm Springs. For those that do not know, we use to live there when we first moved to California. It was a brief pit stop before we moved to San Diego, but a memorable one. So our weekend revolved around getting there, but first, we had to get through our Friday commitments. 

Friday started with Grant and I having separate holiday parties. Grant’s was held at the DoubleTree in Mission Valley and mine was held at the SDSU bowling alley. I can’t speak for Grant, but mine was not that memorable besides an embarrassing attempt at comedy I submitted for the annual video. Neither party was the party we were looking forward too— that was Diana’s birthday party.

Upon entering Diana’s party we were welcomed with a nice glass of rosé. We said our hellos to everyone we knew and began noshing on all the yummy appetizers going around. Somehow we migrated to the tequila station where Grant and Lara began pounding a few tequila shots back like it was Kool-Aide.  This liquid courage was all they needed when the karaoke station was announced as being opened. As evidenced by the videos, Grant and I both seem to have been sufficiently encouraged to belt our heart out. The party was wonderful and after pigging out on tacos and dessert, we were off to the next party.

This liquid courage was all they needed when the karaoke station was announced as being opened. As evidenced by the videos, Grant and I both seem to have been sufficiently encouraged to belt our heart out. The party was wonderful and after pigging out on tacos and dessert, we were off to the next party.

Our friend Kelsey was having a Christmas/Haunakahh/Whatever party to celebrate the season. The most important thing to me was that we made it in time to score the last potato latke. I get those once a year and did not want to miss it. “Fun” Grant was out in full effect and it didn’t take long to realize we needed to just make an appearance and then leave.  

The next morning we got up and started the pilgrimage to Pammmm Springs (Thanks Mark for making sure this city will always be called that). Our first stop was in Temecula to eat with Holly. It would be an unusual occurrence to go more than 7 days without going to California Pizza Kitchen so we corrected that by eating there for lunch. After eating way too many desserts, which only Holly has an excuse to eat, we continued our journey to the city in the desert that LA forgot. 

After what seemed like forever (1.5 hours) we arrived and checked in to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton Palm Springs, which didn’t have a great view, but did have a great pool and was right next to a casino. After piddling around the room for a while we met up with our friends Louis, Casey, and Nick. In creating this blog I realized I have no evidence of this meet up except a picture of Nick and Casey with the proprietor of the restaurant. Nick had some extended relationship with her so we ended up getting free drinks so there was a reason we put up with him.  

I love beef stroganoff for some reason and this place had it! So I was happy!

Our friend Kelsey was having a Christmas/Haunakahh/Whatever party to celebrate the season. The most important thing to me was that we made it in time to score the last potato latke. I get those once a year and did not want to miss it. “Fun” Grant was out in full effect and it didn’t take long to realize we needed to just make an appearance and then leave.  

We unsuccessfully convinced Casey and Nick to come to the Baloney show that Grant used as the justification for coming to Palm Springs. Baloney is an all-male comedy troop from San Francisco that tries to push the envelope using sex. I have now seen it at least twice and I can honestly say there are acts that are funny and others that bomb. Louis was a great sport and came with us (i.e. saved me from being alone) and even got to participate in the show. He will have that “smell” saved in his memory for a long time I am sure. After the show, we went to the casino where we all quickly lost our money and I turned in. Grant and Louis went out for drinks and came in later that evening.

The next morning was my mom’s birthday and I wished her a happy birthday in the bathroom, while Grant slept. He came in and I went into the bedroom. When he was finished I attempted to go back into the bathroom and decided that I would just bid my mom adieu instead of dealing with that aftermath. Yikes. We both slowly got up and met Louis at the pool for a quick dip before we headed back to home—San Diego.

While I refuse to say to Grant that I Love Palm Springs…I will say that my utter disdain and hatred for this city is dwindling. So that’s an improvement!

Due to Technical Difficulties We Ask That You Leave...

We returned to our normal tradition of going up to San Francisco for Thanksgiving. Last year, we took the year off and went to Salt Lake, which we decided was a mistake. Salt Lake is a very family oriented place and that isn’t what Grant and I are about right now. We more “city-folk.”

This was the first time in a long time we flew United Economy, which meant that we would be living out of a backpack for the next few days. For $125 round trip per person on Thanksgiving we were fine to do so. However, this did limit what we could bring back with us from our Black Friday haul. Upon landing, Grant’s aunt, Kate, picked us up and we were off to start our long break in SF.

Our first stop was at a nearby Thai place. This owner was running the restaurant because most of her staff were off. We had a fascinating discussion with her about restaurant staffing. Evidently, it is extremely difficult to staff restaurants in SF due to a limited workforce. We ate some amazing wings and Tom Kha and went back to change for actual Thanksgiving dinner.

Russ, Kate’s significant other, came to pick us up and we hauled it to Marin for Thanksgiving dinner. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a myriad of familiar faces from previous visits and of course some amazing champagne. This year, the host family asked Grant and I to each cut a turkey, which was fun to do. Somehow Grant got out of doing it in favor of Russ, but he felt that he contributed by supervising. We ate…ate some more…and then ate some more ice cream to top us off. Everything was as stellar as it usually is and really cemented that we made the right choice to come back.

After dinner, Grant and I usually head to union square, but the rain put a damper on that so we stayed in. We had done some online shopping throughout the day so we felt like we got enough. The next morning we got up and actually continued to shop online. I am not sure if I was discouraged to shop in the store because of the limit amount of bag space or if it was because the sales were not as great. Either way, Grant was thrilled as he bought more “flannel” scent from Bath & Body Work and didn’t have to worry about getting the liquids on the plane.

Our big event was at 4:30pn on Friday and that was the Cirque Du Soleil Volta show. Tickets were ridiculously expensive for this tent show, but we decided to buy them anyway. Probably three acts in the house lights come on and an announcement is made that due to technical difficulties the show has been temporarily delayed. After a few minutes, the announcer comes on again and asks us to wait in the concession stand area. This was highly unusual as most shows do not stop mid-performance, but this one did. We found out later that the catwalk had malfunctioned and they could not get it to rise after the acrobats left.

Eventually, they asked us to go back in, but the show did not start. The audience was restless at this point and so we did the wave, flashed our phones, and started chanting random phrases. Finally, the show started up again, but it was a shortened version. The good news though was that they refunded the show tickets 100% so we got to see something for nothing!

The next day we got up and ate Spanish Tapas. The food was so-so, but the portions were huge. We ended up getting a meat platter, which had meat hidden throughout it so you never knew what you were going to find. After much negotiation, Boy Erased was chosen as the movie to follow after lunch. Everyone seemed to like it so it was well fought for by me.

The final event of the trip was AsiaSF, which is, of course, a drag show dinner. It would not be a trip to SF without seeing some form of queer art and Grant does love his drag shows. At AsiaSF, the performers are the wait staff so we were excited to tell them that Russ was celebrating his birthday. As the show went on they gave him a “shot” for him to take.

I think the video will speak for itself.

We had another great time in San Francisco for the holidays and plan to keep this tradition up for the foreseeable future!

Hello Officer...Bam....They are Prescription!

To me, there will always be two versions of Mexico. There is no doubt that parts of Mexico are absolutely beautiful. The coast borders the same ocean that people pay millions of dollars for in Malibu. However, the poverty of the country does bring you out of this ideal or even fantasy version of Mexico very quickly.

Tensions between the US and Mexico are high so this might not have been the ideal destination. A caravan full of individuals from foreign countries seeking asylum in the US had made their way up to Tijuana this weekend putting pressure at the border to make sure none of them slipped through illegally. This tension spilled over into more security and longer wait times.

Tensions between the US and Mexico are high so this might not have been the ideal destination. A caravan full of individuals from foreign countries seeking asylum in the US had made their way up to Tijuana this weekend putting pressure at the border to make sure none of them slipped through illegally. This tension spilled over into more security and longer wait times.

When we crossed the border there was an unusually high amount of armed officers in Mexico. I have always learned to stay clear of the police in Mexico to avoid conflict. However, Grant must not have gotten that memo because he decided that it was okay to wave hello to the officers. He also made sure to hit every single pothole that Mexico had to offer. At a certain point, I think he was doing it secretly on purpose or as he put it… “the car wanted to hit the hole.”

Our hotel, Bajamar, was about 1.5 hours into Mexico and we made a quick stop there first. Unfortunately, the hotel was not ready for us to check in. Check-in was at 4 pm, which was absolutely crazy to us so we decided to skip checking in and go straight to La Bufadora.

La Bufadora is one of the largest blowholes in all of North America. It is an incredibly cool phenomenon based upon air getting trapped in a cave when the waves come in forcing the water and air to explode upwards of 100 feet from sea level. The area has become a tourist trap, which means that you cannot get to the site until you walk close to a mile of shops. These shops have a wide variety of purposes from selling alcohol, to churros, to tacky souvenirs, and even prescription medicine. Grant really wanted to post next to Viagra Man.

After purchasing a large wooden mask to add to my growing collection, we made our way to the hole. The surrounding area was absolutely beautiful and the actual blowhole was really neat to see. We both very much enjoyed seeing it and thought it was well worth the extra drive to get there. If your ever in the area skip the tour and just drive there. Parking is $3/4 dollars and they set you loose at the same spot the $50 tours do.

On the way back, we stopped at a nice Mexican restaurant and I ordered lobster and filet. The duality of Mexico continued even with this meal. The lobster was absolutely delicious, but the steak could have very well of been horse it was so tough. We returned to our hotel and hung out the rest of the day utilizing the amenities and services of the hotel. The restaurant at the hotel had very poor service, but the food was excellent.

Upon exiting the restaurant, we went out the door we came in. However, for some reason, they placed an unidentifiable piece of furniture outside the door to block anyone else coming in. Grant did not see this upon exiting and pushed the door open. The door hit the furniture with a loud “BAM” and toppled over. Only in Mexico does a sound this loud not attract any attention. We looked around and quickly corrected it’s toppled position. The unknown furniture item was splintered into a few broken pieces surrounding the door and we very calmly collected them. We scampered back to our room and fortunately, the hotel was none the wiser that we broke it. In our hurry, I did not get a picture, but I am sure you can assume why not! :)

The next morning we got up slowly and left. We wanted to get to the border crossing as fast as we could knowing that we were in for a long wait. Fortunately, we were given a fast-pass by our hotel to skip the general line into Mexico. While I am sure it saved us sometime— it did still take about 2 hours to cross the border. The border into the US is like nothing I have ever seen before. There are mobile shops, street food vendors, beggars, and even street performances going on all around you in as you are an unwilling captive for their attention.

As we finally made our way to the crossing we were asked some simple questions that I evidently failed according to Grant’s standards. The border agent asks “where are we going?” I respond, “home.” Grant corrects me and says, “La Mesa.” The officer asks me, “please take off your sunglasses.” I yell, “they are prescription glasses.” Evidentially, this is funny to both Grant and the officer. Clearly, I am oblivious and still am unsure why this is funny. However, I am sure Grant if you ask Grant he could tell you. :)

Never Ending Halloween

Just as Jamie Lee Curtis could not escape Michael Meyers for 40 years in the new version of Halloween; Grant and I felt that we could not escape Halloween this year. We started mid-September with a trip to a haunted house and continued the festivities all the way until this past weekend. Considering Halloween is just one day a year— the fact we stretched it over 40 days was a bit of overkill.

This year we decided not to go all out and have a huge party, which was definitely the right call. Instead this year, we went to Holly and Chris’s house in Temecula and then on Sunday we kept it simple for us by hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Party.

I woke up on Saturday sick as a dog. Holly and Chris are always really great about coming to our parties so I did not want to flake. This meant that since I was out of commission that Grant was required to pick up the slack when it came to choosing costumes. He decided that we should be a couples costume of wine and cheese. It was pretty ridiculous, but definitely fun.

I thought my part was a bit boring so I wanted to spice it up. What costume could I wear that would not require pants? Risky business. Thus, risky cheese business or cheesy business was created. No one got it. Literally no one. Totally okay with that. I am going to chalk this one up to the fever and move on. The party was fun, it was great seeing everyone, and we created some really awesome carved pumpkins. I definitely hope they do this again next year.

The next day was our turn for our small party and so we began setting up for the murder mystery dinner party. The tables went up and I had gotten a few things from the dollar store to use as decorations. The food was catered by Luna Grill and that was a godsend as I definitely was not up to cooking for the party. Everyone came in character and dressed up. The script was funny, but the company made it hysterical. Lara the racist was the murderer and I was the only one to guess it correct.

Another year of Halloween in the books. Looking forward to tweaking next year a bit, but continuing the good times.

Barcelona = Food + Drinks + Architecture

What would you like to drink? Sangria.

What would you like to drink? Sangria.

What would you like to drink? (Hiccupp)…more Sangria!

Most people think it’s crazy to go to Barcelona for only three days, but Grant and I felt that we saw everything, we ate everything in sight, and we definitely drank enough Sangria for life. The trip might have been brisk, but we packed as much into it as possible. The end result was us seeing Barcelona for what it is—a beautiful city to walk around and eat, but not much more.

Our adventure began with a new airliner called Iberia, which contracted the flight out to an even smaller company called Level. Grant and I vowed we would never fly Spirit oversees, but we definitely did just that with this airliner. We were fortunate enough to upgrade early and got the exit row for the flight, otherwise we would have been squeezed into our seats like sardines for 12 hours. While the space was excellent the service aspect was atrocious. Would you like a water? That will be 2.5 euros ($3) per beverage. What about a meal? That will be 9 euros for a small thing of nasty pasta. I am supposed to write this to memorialize this forever: Grant and I will never fly Level again.

Upon landing we were to have a car waiting for us. So we went around looking for our names on a sign only to find the driver was running a bit late. Technically, we made our way through security extremely fast so it is not entirely his fault. The driver arrived and took our bags to the car. Thirty minutes later, we found ourselves at the Weflating Suites San Antoni Market, which would serve as our home for the next few nights. The 2-bedroom/1-bathroom apartment was housed in the “hipster” part of Barcelona, which meant that there were loads of excellent restaurants and markets to walk too.

Grant was a bit jetlagged the first night, but was a good sport and went out with me to walk around and find dinner. We walked Las Ramblas, which was the tourist epicenter of Barcelona, and then stumbled upon a quaint little Tapas Bar on our way back called Pasapalo. The food was epic here and so was the Sangria. I knew the food was going to be amazing, but this definitely exceeded my expectations.

The next morning, we were supposed to go on a rather expensive tour of Barcelona, but I goofed and booked the wrong date. I partially blame the tour company as I did send them my flight itinerary and they did not say anything. Needless to say, I am not great at military time nor understanding when flights actually land. As a solution to this major malfunction, we ended up getting a two-day pass on the “Hop-on/Hop-off” bus tour that let us explore the 44 main attractions of Barcelona. The tour was great and took us to all of the key sites of Barcelona including Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, Casa Batilo, Park Guell, Barrio Gotico, and even Camp Nou Stadium (home of FC Barcelona).

The main highlights of the trip for me were the Park Guell, Montjuic Cable Car, and the Barcelona Cathedral. We lovingly dubbed Park Guell, the park with the gingerbread houses and is one of the most iconic sites in all of Barcelona.  It is kind of an odd thing to be so iconic as it is a failed planned housing community by Gaudi that the state turned into a park for tourists.

Montjuic Cable Car is a gondola lift that brought us to the Montjuic castle on a mountain that overlooked the entire city. The views were incredible and also highlighted how insanely spread-out Barcelona was. Another fun event that we stumbled upon was a street festival happening outside of the Barcelona Cathedral. Random vendors, lots of food, free cheese, and a really fun marching band drumming up and down the aisles. Who doesn’t love a good street fair, right?

No trip to Spain would be complete without seeing a Flamenco show. This show was a bit different because before it started we were given lessons as to how to dance the Flamenco. Needless to say, Grant and I had no rhythm and often times finished well after everyone else participating did. A tad embarrassing, but all in good fun. The actual show was a lot different than what I was anticipating. The show was more river dance than tango, but I guess that just shows my limited knowledge of the dance world.

The trip wrapped up organically with one final stroll through Las Ramblas, me hopping on a lion on the Columbus monument and one final round of tapas and Sangria for the road!

Here’s to not drinking Sangria for a while! Ole!

Front of the Line...(Excuse Me)...Move Please....Now! HHN Hollywood 2018

Another weekend in October, which means that of course, we are going to do another Halloween activity. This weekend was our first event in Southern California oddly enough but is definitely my favorite. Universal Studios Hollywood Horror Nights have houses that are longer, scarier, and are much more manageable to navigate as compared to other theme parks.

We took the convertible and drove from the 8, to the 805, to the 5, to the 405, to the 105, to the 110, and back to the 101. Our GPS had us basically going on any and all highways possible in LA to avoid the horrendous traffic. It kept adding extra miles but shortened the time. I think it was a success, but Grant kept grumbling like an old curmudgeon that we should have just stayed on the 5 the whole time.

During the way, we were notified by Grant’s brother Clint that he is getting married to his long-term girlfriend Jillian. We are thrilled for both of them as they make a great couple. Their date, unfortunately, falls on the same date as our really great friends Rachel and Joseph’s wedding….so Grant and I are going to divide and conquer going to each. We are still trying to find a way to go to both so it will be interesting to see what we can pull off logistically there.

We finally arrived and this year, like last, we stayed at the Hilton at Universal. This is the optimal hotel in my opinion because it was right next to the theme park so we can easily walk back to bed. The front desk attendant was particularly chatty and told us all about her amazing time at the Queen Mary, which was random. She let us check in early so listening to the story was well worth it.

Lara arrived shortly after we checked in with In-&-Out. For some reason, this fast-food dud actually tastes edible this time of year. I secretly think it may because we are starving at this point, or Lara slipped some drugs in the food. Either way delicious. After devouring our food, we left to start our second tradition, which was to go to a movie. This year we had the pleasure of seeing Hell Fest, which was about several college kids going to a theme park where the murders were not staged, but real. It was mildly enjoyable and hardly the worst film we have seen.

Due to the fact none of us like theme park food we decided to eat our big meal after the movie rather than wait. We attempted to go to the Wolfgang Puck restaurant that we normally go to, but it had been changed to Vivo Italian. Not a huge deal. We put our name and phone number down and were told 20-30 minutes. We left and I got a message that stated our table would be ready in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Umm….that is a lot later than initially promised. Reversing course, we went back to the hostess who assured us it would only be 20 minutes. We left again only to have my phone ring 2 minutes later that our table was ready. Come on! Dinner was fine and we left for the park.

Our idea this year was to start at the lower and back lot and work our way forward to the upper lot. This year that had 8 houses and each one was better than the next. We started with Strangers Things to get that out of the way. The three of us seemed to be the only people on the planet that had not seen the show, but the maze definitely made me consider watching the show.

The next two houses, The First Purge, and Poltergeist were my favorites. Having a projector play a “staticy” TV screen and a huge killer monster hand lunging from the screen definitely got me every time. We rounded out the houses with Trick r Treat and headed back to the upper lot. There we did the Terror Tram, which is always a dud. Followed by Walking Dead, Universal Monsters, and Halloween 4. There is always something about Michael Myers jumping out in the most random places that gets me. Well done Universal.

The night wrapped up a bit sooner than usual, which was great for all of our feet. On our way back we attempted to go to Saddle Ranch, this very awkward cowboy restaurant right outside the park, which has fire pits for s’mores. Unfortunately, they bulldozed it, which was a shock to all of us. Instead, we walked back to the hotel, changed into our swim trunks, and went to the hot tub that was open until midnight. At the room, we noticed that the AC was not blowing very cold and called maintenance.

Grant had made a chocolate Sangria…honestly…I do not know what that was. It was nasty. Lara and Grant drank it, but I am surprised they are alive. We started getting text messages from the hotel about the air conditioner and it was clear they did not want to send someone to the room. As soon as we got back to the hotel room, the maintenance team showed up to fix the AC. It was a quick fix, but we wanted to go to bed so it was annoying it hadn’t been done.

The next morning, I called the front desk to talk to a manager and put on my best mid-Western charm. “My family and I were so upset about the events that took place. I just wanted to let you know what happened so that this did not happen to any other family.” Yes, I was making a big deal about receiving text messages and a delayed maintenance response, which was not a huge deal. However, the manager did decide for the inconvenience to waive the rollaway bed fee and the parking fees, which totaled about $100. I guess the life lesson here is that if you do not want to pay for something— complain and it may be taken off your bill. Probably not a lesson you want to teach your kid, but as an adult one to live by.

Next year, our only goal is to get Lara to see the Jabbawockeez as she hates them.

San Francisco 2018 - Folsom Street Festival

San Francisco feels like our second home when it comes to California. I feel that we are up there more often then we are in Los Angeles even though that city is way closer. This trip was a blast as we got to see Grant’s Aunt Kate, and our friend Levent (+ his new girlfriend Casey). The trip started out arriving in town and eating at a really good Italian restaurant. The food was tip-top even though it did take a while for it to come out. Then off to a male-burlesque show, which was rather funny and entertaining. We hung out at the rooftop bar after the show for quite a while and then it was time for bed.

The next morning I woke up Grant (10:00am) so please do not feel sorry for him. He was of course cranky like a bear woken up during hibernation. We had a nice brunch with Kate and next door was a massage parlor that we decided to try out. It was really nice except for a homeless guy mad at his girlfriend (i.e. the garbage can) for stealing all his money and ruining his life. That garbage can really did look like garbage so I can see why he was perturbed. To kill sometime before our night events Grant and I stopped at the San Francisco Dungeon and the Arcade Museum at Fishermans’s Warf. Fun times and really awesome seeing some really retro games.

We finished up there and hiked uphill back to the car. Did I mention uphill? The hole darn city seemed to be nothing, but uphill. Just once I wanted to go downhill, but that never seemed to be the side of the street we needed to go down. We made it to the car and drove out to Great America with Levent and Casey for 8 haunted houses. Some were better than others, but they did have a nice twist on two mazes. One was all mirrors which was very “chaotic” and the other was completely in the dark. Nice twist and definitely something we had not seen before. The night ended on the 8th house, which put us right at the midnight closing time.

The next morning we got up and went to Tony’s pizza where I completely over-ordered. It was a bit ridiculous how much I ordered especially considering it was really just pizza. The bill came for $120 and I quickly paid before Grant could see the damage. Of course, he saw and I got a firm lecture on my poor food spending habits. After that we went to the Folsom Street Fair. It was creepy and gross. The shock factor wore off after a little while and I requested latex gloves to walk around. Oddly enough, I think the gloves made me fit in better so that should tell you the type of fair this was. :)

Levent had a friend who was hosting a concert at his place so he quickly came to the rescue and we ubbered over to the concert. Definitely, fun to have a concert in someones living room. It ended to quickly and we rushed to the airport. The trip was a quick one, but definitely something to remember.

Theme Parks, Cici's and Rental Cars

For a last minute trip, we really crammed a lot in a very very short period of time. Upon landing we had the distinct pleasure of going to pick up our car from Action Nu Car Rental. Grant was proud of himself for only spending $4 a day on the reservation. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” could never have been more true in this case. We waited an hour and half only to be told that they were out of cars. We had a reservation so they literally rented a car from a different dealership for us to be able to have a car. We missed hanging out with friends, but at least we got a working car, which is more than what can be said for most as we learned when we returned the car. Some people were stranded at the airport when the bus mysteriously stopped working.

Our first stop after the car rental was food. Orlando is jammed pack with chains and so we stopped at one of my favorites— Cici’s Pizza. Grant refused and so we split up. He went to Golden Corral, which was a big mistake and one that I know will haunt him for the rest of his life. :) Mine was outstanding; his was a dud.

The next morning, we got up slowly after a late night and went to Volcano Bay. This is Universal’s new waterpark in Orlando and one of the only parks we have not been too in the area. It started out great with minimal waits and we got to ride a fun tube ride right away. Next was one of their premier rides, which was a water tube down from the top of the mountain. I hate enclosed waterslides because of the heat and humidity (it just creeps me out). But, I went through with it. At the bottom I was waiting for Grant only to find out that the park was shutting down to thunder and lightning. It was a huge disappointment because we had only been there for less than hour.

We went to customer service to demand a refund. When it was our turn to speak to a customer service agent and she let us know that everything was back up and running. For our troubles, she was going to award us 4 “Ride Now” passes to any ride we wanted. So we of course choose the ones that had 100 minute waits and skipped everyone who had been waiting. That’s more our style. Grant finally went on the slide I went on earlier. I chickened out because I hated it the first time. We cleaned up and headed to the other side of Universal— to Halloween Horror Nights.

Halloween Horror Nights consisted of 10 haunted houses this year, which was a record. I wanted to get through all of them as we did not get to finish last year. Each one had a different theme and story, but all of them were extremely well done. They also had a really awesome dance show by Academy of Villans to go along with the haunted houses. By 1am the park was closing and we had just completed our final maze. It was a blast, but we were exhausted. This was definitely a common theme for this trip.

Sunday morning, we got up. Returned the car to the awful car rental place and got on a place to Houston. We had a really nice visit with my family and I got to eat my chips/salsa that I love from La Hacienda. The night ended with us playing some JackBoxTV and Grant finally convinced someone to play Fakin’It with him.

Food, Car, Hike

This post is a little late, but the first time that I have a free moment. 

Our Friday kicked off with San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Party that hosts the best restaurants in all of San Diego. This event is all-you-can-eat and drinks party celebrating the award recipients. This has become an annual tradition for Emily, Rachel, Joseph, Grant and me, and is something that we starve ourselves for a week to enjoy. This year I broke with my Keto diet and pigged out on tacos, paella, pizza, and my favorite California Burrito. Not having carbs in weeks-- that tortilla was heaven.

Saturday was a fun and exciting day because we planned on trading in our Jeep Wrangler for a Mini Cooper Convertible. So essentially, we were trading one impractical car for another. I can make some strong arguments such as gas prices, resale value, etc. as to why this is a legitimate decision, but I think the strongest is that I just want one. We drove to LA for SD and completed the transaction without any issue. Grant and my parents decided to name the car TaHoe because she is always going to have her top down. I secretly like the name Watson, which I have been calling it that in private....when I am alone with the car. 

Sunday was a spontaneous hike day. I guess Grant had it planned but did not really relay that information to me. He wanted to take the new car, which I vehemently objected. We got into an argument and ultimately took our other car. This was a wise move because we were all a little hot and sweety at the end. Later we got a massage, visited Tarina's new place, and then went to Kelsey and Chris's for a late-night Sunday game night. 

Not too shabby for a random weekend at home...ish... 

California's Capital, Reno, Scott & Aditi's Wedding, and Truckee

This trip found us going up to Graeagle, CA for Scott and Aditi's wedding. The wedding itself went off without a hitch and the after-party was a lot of fun! This was the first wedding in a while that I was not completely hammered and so the next day was actually pleasant, which is a new feeling.  

For the start of the trip, we flew into Sacramento, which was 2 1/2 hours from the wedding venue. We somehow convinced the rental car agent to upgrade us for free so we scored a mini-cooper convertible. Now we want one. 

Since we were in Sacramento we thought we would tour it a bit. There really isn't much to Sacramento besides the capital so we stopped by there. We "accidentally" joined a random tour in progress and were able to go inside the different chambers. It didn't take long until our eyes glazed over and we left to start our road trip. 

We stopped at a few of the cities in between Sacramento and Graeagle and came upon this really interesting mining town called Old Town Auburn. I am fascinated with small towns and thought this one was particularly charming. We decided to stop and walk around a bit. It was definitely worth the stop if nothing more than to use the bathroom, which Grant of course did. 

From there we took the scenic route through Tahoe Park and ended at the Chalet View Lodge in Greagle. We just missed dinner, but were able to eat some of the leftovers. We saw the happy couple and friends and socialized before we called it an early night.  

The next morning we got up and headed to Reno, while everyone slept off the festivities the night before. Reno is just like Freemont Street in Las Vegas, which screams 1970/1980's. We ended up playing slots at Circus Circus and came out ahead $50. Any money earned is better than money lost so we were both really pleased with the outcome. 

We drove back and got ourselves prepared for the wedding. The wedding was very subdued and relaxed, which fit both Scott and Aditi perfectly. The wedding was in this beautiful part of the resort with lots of trees and water in the background. Very picturesque! Afterwards, the party really started were we began to eat and drink and be merry. The alcohol was definitely flowing and some of us got more intoxicated than others. Ultimately, everyone had an amazing time and created some really lasting memories. 

Finally, it was time to leave, which is not something we really wanted to do. Our friend Allison joined us and we hopped in the car and headed out. Since our flight was not to late we stopped on the way back in Truckee to do some river rafting. The currents were not strong, but we definitely got a work-out paddling the river. Our coordination was not professional just yet and so we hit the brush and a few trees, while trying to take selfies. Next time, we got this! :)  

Vancouver / Victoria 2018

Planning is key, but even when you don't have a definite plan you do find some really interesting things to do. Our accommodations were a bit suspect. Giang on the floor, Emily and Grant in full beds, and me laying on a rollaway mattress on the floor. However, we made it work. Everyone wanted to do something different and somehow through it all, we all got to do it. 

Grant wanted to go to the Capanilo Suspension Bridge; Luke wanted to go to the Grantville Public Market; Giang wanted to go to the Vancouver Pride Parade, and finally, Emily wanted to go to the Butchart Gardens. 

The suspension bridge was "a little rocky" according to Grant and that we had fun "hanging out." Those are his cheesy thoughts on the subject, which pretty much sums up my thoughts as well. Next was the Grantville Public Market, which is a public market and shops under a bridge. Giang and I spent a good amount of time here walking around. Being on a diet limited what I could eat, but it was definitely in awe of some of the fruit/vegetables that were there. 

The next day we started out late because we had our first HotPot experience at midnight. Giang wanted to go to the Pride Parade and so we made our way to that part of Vancouver. The pride parade was a block away from the Trump Hotel so we thought that might be a good place to park considering the type of event. It ended up being really empty and we even got to validate our parking ticket so the parking was free. We got quite a few different swag items and left for Victoria.

Butchart Garden was a car ride, ferry ride, and taxi ride away, but we made it. We didn't have much time, but the gardens were gorgeous. Everywhere you looked was a photo opportunity for a great selfie. This definitely would not have been on my list of British Columbia must-see list, but it was definitely cooler than I initially thought. The trip ended a quick stay at the Motel 6 and back to San Diego. 

Comic-Con 2018 Recap

This year's Comic-Con was another great year. Wednesday night was all about touring the floor and visiting Conan. We were able to see the 10 year anniversary of Break Bad cast, which was pretty great as that show still holds up well. We did receive a "Pop" figure, which we promptly sold for $70 upon exiting. Emily and I also got to do all of the exhibits without spending hours in line.  

Thursday was neat because Jake and I jumped around quite a bit. We started with watching a panel for the new predator in Hall H, then I went to Conan again, and finished with seeing some interesting panels in Ballroom 20. Again, sold the Conan pop figure, but this time for $80. We got in line at 7 pm to get passes to Hall H on Friday, which was really not necessary. 

Friday was all about Hall H. Jake and I saw the cast of the Walking Dead, the cast of Glass (Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, M. Night Shyamalan, and Samuel L. Jackson), and followed that up with the cast of Halloween. Great evening. 

Saturday was a bit abysmal. We got up early for the Indigo Ballroom and waited for 3 hours in line, but made it in for the Good Place. Terrible seats, but at least we were in and got to see the panel. I went home early only to return that evening for the spectacular performance by Rachel Bloom and the company of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Heavy Boob is just hilarious. 

Sunday was a bit of a slow day. Tarina and I toured the floor and watched (i.e. laughed at the Masquerade recap). 

Observations: 

-Hall H was not that bad this year without Marvel

-Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the best days to go to Comic-Con. Saturday has to many people and Sunday it is dead. 

Grant's First Garage Sale

A garage sale was something Grant and I talked about doing for a while, but never really wanted to do it. So of course we choose the weekend where we are having 100 degree weather! Thankfully it was cool in the morning of and it all worked out.  

We put up signs around our neighborhood and listed it on a few websites. We both agreed (me begrudgingly) that it should start at 9 am. So I got up at 8 am with the intent of getting everything outside to start the sale at 9 am. Lo and behold, there is already people waiting outside our front door waiting for the garage sale to start. 

I quickly start laying stuff out and a mass horde of people start grabbing it and putting it into piles. Grant must have heard the commotion, wakes up and begins bringing stuff outside. He told me he felt like an auctioneer. As soon as he would bring something out, a person would want to buy it before it made it all the way out the door. 

We planned on being out there from 9 to 12, but in reality it was 8 to 10:30. We sold out of nearly everything and the few things leftover we put outside with a free sign. Our total haul was $1,209.00. Not bad for about 5 hours of total work!

Plus we have more free space for me to buy more stuff. Win-win!  

Del Mar Fair 2018

The theme was sweets, but the drive was more of a cavity.

This years Del Mar Fair was all about the sweets, which means that all of the food either had to have sugar, bacon, or be fried. So standard food fair.

This trip Tarina tagged along and we headed out to the fair around 2ish. What should have been a 30 minute drive turned into a 2 and a half hour exercise in patience. It took forever to get into the fair, but once there we had an amazing time.

We walked through the exhibits, ate some really nasty food and rode rides that made us feel even worse then the food. It was a tortious experience that we all thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to going back too! 

Schlitterbahn Year 4 or 5

The trip started out with a three hour delay, which kind of changed the itenerary, but we definitely made it work out. We got to the airport and there was only one flight attendant. Due to the delay, the plane after ours was being flashed on the monitors as ready to board when we were still getting on. This confused everyone and made the delay even worse. The positive news is that we ended up with a $50 credit so we are fine with the delay! 

Once in Austin, we could tell right away. 95 and humid is way different than 74 and dry. Wendy picked us up and hand-delivered some amazing kolaches from the Czech Bakery. We then drove from Austin to New Brunfeals to get ready for the water park the next day.

For dinner, we ate at our normal joint-- Los Cucos and had some good green salsa until they ran out! The resturant closes at 10pm and we got there at 9:30pm so it’s not completely unreasonable. I ended up “borrowing” some from other tables and even had other tables donating it to me by the end. I am obsessed with their green salsa. 

The next day we woke up early (10am) and made our way to Schlitterbahn. We met our friends Mike and Catey and the five of us (including Wendy) started riding. We got front of the line passes, which let us cut in front of everyone so we were pretty pleased with ourselves and our VIP status. Since it was an odd number I voluntered to go by myself and got some great video as seen above. 

The highlight of the trip was the Congo ride. We went through like normal, but the ride’s extension was finally open and we got to float along the Comal River. So neat floating next to the lily pads and frogs! 

Great trip as always looking forward to next year! 

Reminders for next year: 

1. Go on Sunday (it’s Texas and people are at church) 

2. The normal fast pass and not the super fast pass is sufficient as we could spend the extra wait time in the wave or lazy river.  

Waiting is Not an Option at Disneyland

Yesterday, we went to Disneyland for the first time in about five years. As soon as we walked in we were swarmed with people. The adventure did not start well with our first ride, Guardians of the Galaxy, having a 70 minutes wait and no FASTPASS. So we left to ride Indian Jones, which had the shortest wait.

To our initial dismay, as we were in line the ride broke down. However, as a result they gave us a free FASTPASS that let us ride any ride whenever we wanted! We went over to Space Mountain and got on right away as compared to the standby 95 minute wait.

We conveniently forgot to give the ride attendants our fast passes, which lead us to ride Big Thunder Mountain and Matterhorn with a FASTPASS.   

The final hurdle was to get back to Guardians and avoid the 70 minute line. Confidence is key and so we just went up to the ride attendant and pretended like we had a FASTPASS.  Immediately after I scanned my pass, Grant scanned his. This completely messed up their system as there was no way to go back and review the error. The attendant was so frazzled they let us both in! 

We left the park to eat and came back and rode the reopened Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. Each of those rides had about a 15 minute wait so we begrudginly waited in those lines.  We may not have gone to Disney in a while, but we still know how to work the system! 

Panama City, Panama

So the canal is pretty boring, which should not come as a surprise to anyone. It is something that you have to see to say that you have done it. Ironically, it is not owned by anyone as technically it is considered international waters. The Panamanian people definitely collect the funds. 

There are boats littered everywhere waiting to get through it and it can cost over a million dollars to cross. The city itself use to belong really to the US before it was given back to Panama in 1999. Oddly enough, the US still has the ability to take it away if Panama misbehaves. 

Due north of the the Miraflores locks is Monkey Island. An island that has three different species of monkeys on it that are friendly to tourists. 

Lihue, Hawaii

We had been to Waikiki before and hated it. This time we thought that we would try our luck in Kauai and we definitely had a much better time! We started out ziplining, which was kind of a bust, but it put us right next to Secret Beach, which was one of the prettiest places we have ever been. Of course being the smart child that I am -- I thought my selfie-stick was as indestructible as I am. Unfortunately, both of us were clobbered by a huge wave. We did tubing and then a helicopter ride going past the Jurassic Park falls. It was pretty incredible!

One thing that did happen that I instantly regret was introducing Grant to shaved ice. He would not stop eating Hawaiian shaved ice. Everytime, I asked him what he wanted to eat he would say, "shaved ice."  He was a monster! 

Much better trip than the first!